JP4857160B2 - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus that can embody a grayscale image display mode of a document image with good visibility without requiring a special space and operation.

  Conventionally, in an image forming apparatus including, for example, a printer or a multifunction peripheral, image processing such as density adjustment processing and sharpness adjustment processing is performed on a read original image, and the original image subjected to the image processing is printed on paper. Output. In this type of image forming apparatus, the density can be adjusted to obtain an output desired by the user.

  As one of the approaches for performing such density adjustment, the applicant of the present application displays a plurality of samples with different densities on the display panel and changes the display density in response to the operation of the density key, etc. A technique for changing the display density of a sample has been proposed (for example, see Patent Document 1). According to the technique described in Patent Document 1, the user can grasp in advance what kind of image is formed before the image forming process is performed.

  However, in the technique described in Patent Document 1, it is necessary to provide, for example, a special space for displaying a sample and a special operation when displaying a grayscale image of an original image.

JP-A-2005-107184

  The problem to be solved is that, in the prior art, it is necessary to provide a special space and a special operation when displaying a grayscale image of an original image.

The present invention provides a reading screen for reading a document image, an image forming unit for forming an image on a sheet in accordance with the document image read by the reading unit, and various types of information referred to when an instruction relating to a copy job is displayed on a display screen. an image forming apparatus having a display unit capable of displaying on the shading information acquisition means for acquiring shading information in accordance with shading of the document image read by the reading means, by the shading information acquisition means It is characterized by comprising display control means for controlling the density of the background color of the display screen in order to indicate the increase or decrease of the toner consumption according to the acquired density information .

The present invention provides density information acquisition means for acquiring density information relating to the density of a document image read by the reading means, and the density of the ground color of the display screen according to the density information acquired by the density information acquisition means. As a result of being configured to include display control means for controlling the toner consumption to indicate increase / decrease in toner consumption, it is possible to notify the increase / decrease in toner consumption without requiring a special space and operation.

  When the grayscale information is acquired by the grayscale information acquisition means, the design corresponding to the display mode storage means for the purpose of embodying the grayscale image display mode of the original image with good visibility without requiring any special space and operation. And a display control means for controlling the display of the grayscale image of the document image on the display screen with the read design.

  Hereinafter, an image forming apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Hereinafter, a digital color copying machine will be described as an example of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention.

[Schematic configuration around the digital color copier]
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram around a digital color copying machine.

  This digital color copying machine can use at least one of the functions of print output, fax transmission, mail transmission, and data transmission, and is controlled by the main control unit 11 including a microcomputer and a dedicated hardware circuit. Is done. As an input / output device connected to the main control unit 11 and responsible for various functions, this machine includes a scanner unit 21, an image processing unit 31, an engine unit 41, an operation panel unit 51, a facsimile communication unit 61, and an HDD (hard disk drive) 63. And a network I / F (interface) unit 65.

  The main control unit 11 includes a scanner controller 13 that performs operation control for realizing a scanner function, a facsimile controller 15 that performs operation control for realizing a facsimile function, and a printer controller that performs operation control for realizing a printer function. 17 and a copy controller 19 for controlling the operation for realizing the copy function are incorporated, and the overall operation of the apparatus is controlled.

  The scanner unit 21 (corresponding to the “reading unit” of the present invention) includes an image irradiation lamp 23 and a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) sensor 25 constituting a scanner (not shown). The scanner unit 21 irradiates the document with the image irradiation lamp 23, receives the reflected light with the CCD sensor 25, reads an image from the document, and outputs image data corresponding to the read image to the image processing unit 31. .

  The image processing unit 31 includes a correction unit 33, an image processing unit 35, and an image memory 37. The image processing unit 31 processes the image data read by the scanner unit 21 with the correction unit 33 and the image processing unit 35 as necessary, and stores the processed image data in the image memory 37, the engine unit 41, Output to the facsimile communication unit 61 or the like. The correction unit 33 performs predetermined correction processing such as level correction and Y correction on the image data read by the scanner unit 21. The image processing unit 35 performs various types of processing such as image data compression or expansion processing and enlargement or reduction processing.

  The engine unit 41 includes a sheet conveying unit 43 including a sheet feeding cassette and a sheet feeding roller (not illustrated), an image forming unit 45 including a photosensitive drum, an exposure device, a developing device, and the like (not illustrated), a transfer roller (not illustrated), and the like. And a fixing unit 49 including a fixing roller (not shown). The engine unit 41 stores image data read by the scanner unit 21, image data transmitted from a client PC (personal computer) or the like via a network I / F unit 65 via a local area network (LAN), and a facsimile communication unit 61. The image is printed on a sheet using image data such as fax data received from an external facsimile machine. Specifically, the sheet conveying unit 43 conveys the sheet to an image forming unit (corresponding to “image forming unit” of the present invention) 45, and the image forming unit 45 forms a toner image corresponding to the image data. The transfer unit 47 transfers the toner image to the paper, and the fixing unit 49 fixes the toner image on the paper to form an image.

  The operation panel unit 51 includes a touch panel unit 53 and an operation key unit 55. The operation panel unit 51 is used for a user to perform operations related to a scanner function, a facsimile function, a printer function, a copy function, and the like, and gives an operation command and the like by the user to the main control unit 11.

  The touch panel unit 53 (corresponding to the “display unit” of the present invention) is composed of a touch panel unit that combines a touch panel and a color LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), and various operation screens, for example, when executing a copy function, Information related to the document size, copy size, number of copies, etc. is displayed, and operation buttons for inputting various operation commands when the user touches the corresponding part are displayed. The touch panel unit 53 is used when displaying a grayscale image of a document image in a form related to a design change applied to the display screen.

  The operation key unit 55 includes a plurality of operation keys for receiving user operation inputs. For example, a key input operation of a required function can be performed from various functions such as a copy function, a printer function, a scanner function, and a facsimile function. This is used when the user selectively executes, or when the user inputs a copy number or a copy execution command.

  The facsimile communication unit 61 includes an encoding / decoding unit (not shown), a modem unit (not shown), and an NCU (Network Control Unit) (not shown). The facsimile communication unit 61 transmits image data of a document read by the scanner unit 21 to a facsimile apparatus or the like via a telephone line, or receives image data transmitted from the facsimile apparatus or the like.

  The HDD (hard disk drive) 63 stores image data read by the scanner unit 21 and various data such as an output format set in the image data. The image data stored in the HDD is not only used inside the image forming apparatus, the program, and the recording medium, but also can be confirmed from a client PC or the like via the network I / F unit 65 if necessary. It is transferred to a predetermined folder such as a PC or FTP server.

  The network I / F unit 65 uses a network interface (10 / 100Base-TX) or the like, and controls transmission / reception of various data to / from a client PC connected via the LAN.

  The main control unit 11 reads the original image read by the scanner unit 21 in order to acquire the light / dark information related to the light / dark of the original image and to display the acquired light / dark information according to the design change applied to the display screen. A density information acquisition unit (corresponding to “a density information acquisition unit” of the present invention) 71 for acquiring density information relating to the density of the document and a variation applied to the display screen for each variation relating to the density of the original image. The display mode table (corresponding to the “display mode storage unit” of the present invention) 73 that stores different designs in association with each other, and the display mode (design) based on the gray level information acquired by the gray level information acquisition unit 71. When the shading information is acquired by the display mode determining unit 75 to be determined and the shading information acquisition unit 71, the corresponding design is read from the display mode table 73. And a display control unit (corresponding to “display control means” of the present invention) 77 that controls the display of the grayscale image of the original image with the display screen with the read design. Yes.

[Operation of Image Forming Apparatus According to Present Invention]
Next, the operation of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 2 shows an operation flowchart of the image forming apparatus, and FIG. 3 shows a design example of a display screen related to a grayscale image display of a document image.

  First, the shading information acquisition unit 71 acquires shading information relating to the shading of the document image based on the document image data to be printed (step S11). The acquisition of the shading information in step S11 is executed, for example, by developing a bitmap of the document image data read by the scanner unit 21 and accumulating density data for each pixel unit. Based on the shading information acquired in step S11, the display mode determination unit 75 determines in which stage the shading image of the document image is “normal”, “slightly dark”, or “dark” ( Step S12).

  As a result of the density determination in step S12, when it is determined that the density image of the document image is “normal”, the display mode determining unit 75 writes “normal” in the density information flag (step S13). When it is determined that the density image of the document image is “slightly dark”, the display mode determination unit 75 writes “slightly dark” in the density information flag (step S14). Further, when it is determined that the density image of the document image is “dark”, the display mode determination unit 75 writes “dark” to the density information flag (step S15).

  After completing the writing of the shading information flag in steps S13 to S15, the display control unit 77 reads the screen design corresponding to the content of the shading information flag in the display mode determining unit 75 by referring to the display mode table 73, and Control is performed to display the grayscale image of the original image on the display screen with the read design (step S16).

  Here, as a design example of the display screen related to the display of the grayscale image of the original image, for example, when the grayscale image of the original image is “normal”, the ground color of the display screen 79 is displayed in a light monochrome display with a “light gray” color design ( 3 (1)), when the grayscale image of the original image is “slightly dark”, the ground color of the display screen 79 is displayed in monochrome with an intermediate density with a color design of “slightly dark gray” (see FIG. 3 (2)). Then, when the gray image of the original image is “dark”, the background color of the display screen 79 is darkly displayed in monochrome with the color design of “dark gray” (see FIG. 3 (3)).

  As described above, according to the image forming apparatus of the present invention, different designs applied to the display screen 79 are stored in association with each other for each variation related to the density of the original image, and the density information acquisition is performed. When the density information related to the density of the document image is acquired by the unit 71, the corresponding design is read from the display mode table 73, and the density image of the document image is displayed on the display screen 79 on which the read design is applied. As a result, it is possible to easily recognize the grayscale image of the original image at a glance by looking at the design change of the display screen 79 itself that is referred to when performing an instruction relating to a copy job. As a result, it is possible to realize a gray image display mode with good visibility without requiring special space and operation. Door can be.

  In addition, the display screen 79 itself that is referred to when the user gives an instruction relating to the copy job, for example, whether the grayscale image of the original image to be printed out is normal, slightly darker, or much darker. As a result, it is possible to surely avoid the wasteful printing of an original image with an unexpected density. As a result, the convenience and economy of the user are remarkably improved. Can be improved. Furthermore, the user can be conscious of saving regarding the toner consumption.

  Here, when an image image such as a photograph is printed, the toner consumption tends to increase remarkably as compared with printing only text data. For this reason, there is a case where an operation of prohibiting image print output in principle is performed from the viewpoint of suppressing toner consumption. In such a case, the user is informed that the original image to be printed out is related to the image image by notifying the user that the gray image display is dark by the design change mode of the display screen 79 itself. It can also be used for notification purposes.

  In addition, when the density of the light and shade image in the original image to be printed out exceeds a predetermined threshold value (this threshold value can be set to a desired value by the user), this is indicated to the user. If the system is configured to warn the user, it is possible to expect a secondary effect such that the user is thoroughly reminded of saving regarding the toner consumption.

  By the way, when the gray image of the original image is identified and displayed by the design change mode of the display screen 79 itself, it is more convenient if the user can be notified of what is displayed along with the gray image of the original image. Increases nature.

  From such a point of view, a configuration may be adopted in which the display of the “screen image of the original image” is displayed by an appropriate means such as a balloon in accordance with the design display of the display screen 79 itself.

  Further, when identifying and displaying the gray image of the original image according to the design change mode of the display screen 79 itself, there is a problem of how to set the switching unit of the gray image display.

  In terms of this, for example, the grayscale image display unit may switch the grayscale image display for each printed matter, or the print result prediction for one job unit may be reflected in the grayscale image display. The accumulated value for a certain period may be reflected in the grayscale image display, the accumulated value for a certain period and the average value of one printed matter may be reflected in the grayscale image display, or user authentication is performed. In this case, the usage history for each user may be accumulated and reflected in the gray image display.

  In the embodiment, a monochrome image is described as an example of the color relating to grayscale image display.However, in the case of color display, black (Black) is displayed on the display color related to the combination of RGB according to the grayscale. You may comprise so that it may adjust with an appropriate allocation rate.

  Furthermore, not only the grayscale image display for each device but also the accumulated values related to the grayscale across multiple devices can be reflected in the grayscale image display in each of the multiple devices.

[Others]
The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be appropriately changed without departing from the gist of the invention read from the claims and the entire specification or the technical idea, and image formation accompanied by such changes The apparatus is also included in the scope of the technical scope of the present invention.

  That is, in the embodiment of the present invention, the mode of setting the three-stage variation is described for identifying and displaying variations related to the shading of the document image. However, the present invention is not limited to such an embodiment. For example, a two-stage variation may be set, and conversely, a mode in which a four-stage or more variation is set may be employed.

  Furthermore, in the embodiment of the present invention, as an example of the design of the display screen 79, a mode has been described in which the display screen 79 is identified and displayed so as to change the shading of the display screen 79 for each variation related to the shading of the document image. The present invention is not limited to such an embodiment. For example, instead of changing the shading of the display screen 79 itself, a mode in which the design of a part or all of the area on the display screen 79 is changed is used. It can also be adopted. In addition, for each variation relating to the density of the document image, an aspect is adopted in which the identification screen is displayed so as to change the density gradation (for example, identification using a hatching pattern or a gray scale) of the display screen 79 itself. It is also possible to adopt a mode in which both the color and density gradation of the display screen 79 itself are changed. In addition, as one design, it is possible to adopt a mode in which a plurality of stages of color and density gradation are interwoven. In short, in the shade information display by the design variation of the display screen 79 according to the present invention, any design variation can be adopted as long as the user can grasp the shade of the original image at a glance.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram around an image forming apparatus (digital color copying machine) according to the present invention. FIG. 6 is a flowchart relating to the operation of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention. It is a figure which shows the example of a design of the display screen which concerns on the gray image display of a manuscript image.

Explanation of symbols

11 Main control unit 21 Scanner unit (reading means)
45 Image forming unit (image forming means)
53 Touch panel section (display means)
71 Shading information acquisition unit (shading information acquisition means)
73 display mode table (display mode storage means)
75 Display mode determining unit 77 Display control unit (display control means)

Claims (4)

A reading unit that reads an original image, an image forming unit that forms an image on a sheet according to the original image read by the reading unit, and various types of information that are referred to when an instruction relating to a copy job can be displayed on a display screen and Do display unit, an image forming apparatus having a,
Density information acquisition means for acquiring density information relating to the density of the original image read by the reading means ;
Display control means for controlling the density of the background color of the display screen to indicate the increase or decrease in toner consumption according to the density information acquired by the density information acquisition means;
An image forming apparatus comprising: The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 ,
The image forming apparatus characterized in that the display control means expresses the shade of the ground color of the display screen by a change in density gradation. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display control means expresses the shade of the background color of the display screen by a change in density gradation corresponding to the shade of the dark original screen. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1,
The image forming apparatus characterized in that the display control means expresses the shade of the ground color of the display screen by a change in color.

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